


Stay With Me, I'm Scared

by Harukawa



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: Drabble Collection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Minor Violence, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-03 05:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1732784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harukawa/pseuds/Harukawa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't even want to admit to it. Konoha still didn't know what his nightmares consisted of, why he woke up in a panic almost every night, clutching at himself and pathetically trying to keep himself together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a few weeks after[ I Don’t Think This is What They Meant When They Said “Brotherly Love”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1728584), and after Kuroha is (physically) fully recovered.
> 
> This is more of an "extra" than any sort of actual continuation.
> 
> Cross-posted to my Tumblr: [harooks](http://harooks.tumblr.com)

_"You're pathetic, Kuroha." He flinches at those words, at that **voice,** trying desperately to escape from the boy that was steadily advancing on him. It wasn't any use; it never was. He couldn't ever escape Haruka._

_"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this?" his brother asks, and his world erupts into pain as Haruka's knee is brought up to slam into his stomach. He drops to his knees, desperately attempting to catch his breath. "Do you **know**_   _how long I've waited to put you in your place? To completely **destroy** that ego of yours?" A cruel laugh escapes Haruka's lips as his hand grabs a fistful of Kuroha's hair. He lets out a weak protest that goes completely unheeded, a quick blow to the side of the head soon leaving him stunned._

_"Look at you." His brother's leg lashes out once more, a foot solidly connecting with his side. A grotesque **snap** can be heard as one of his ribs breaks, and he tumbles to the ground, clutching at his side in agony. "Look at what you've been reduced to." Haruka crouches down, straddling his waist and wrapping cold hands around his neck. "I'm going to  **destroy** you, brother." The hands around his neck tighten until he can't breathe, until his vision blurs and he can see his life flashing before his eyes. So this is it. This is how it--_

He bolts upright, covered in a cold sweat and panting heavily as his mind races to figure out where he is. He's in his room, he realises, in his bed, with someone lying next to him. A jolt of terror surges through him as his dream comes flooding back to him, desperately hoping that the person next to him wasn't Haruka.

"Kuro..?" He relaxes slightly upon hearing that voice, sighing to himself.  _Konoha. It's just Konoha._ He can hear his brother yawn, the bed shifting as Konoha sits up. "...Are you okay, Kuro..? Did you have a bad dream again?"

"I..." He doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't even want to admit to it. Konoha still didn't know what his nightmares consisted of, why he woke up in a panic almost every night, clutching at himself and pathetically trying to keep himself together. He didn't have the heart to tell his brother the truth. _  
_

He finally nods in response to Konoha's question, leaving his reply at that. He doesn't flinch away when Konoha's arms wrap around him, when he's pulled against his brother's chest and a hand carefully pets at his hair. He's grown to like this, to  _need_ the comfort and affection that Konoha so freely offers him.

"It's okay." Konoha mumbles, kissing the top of his head. "It was just a dream. I'm here. I'll protect you. Nothing bad will happen... okay?" He nods again, clutching at Konoha like a lifeline and doing his best to push out any lingering memories of his dream. He hates feeling like this, a sense of  _weakness_ hanging about him because he still isn't over it, he still hasn't recovered from what Haruka did to him.  _At least it's Konoha, though. Konoha is the only one who sees me like this, and he..._

"Kono." he mumbles, pulling just far enough away from his brother to get a good look at him. Konoha gives him a questioning look, concern clearly evident on his face. He hesitates for just a moment before leaning in, capturing Konoha's mouth with his own in a gentle kiss. "Thank you." he mumbles against his brother's lips, pulling away to rest his head on Konoha's shoulder as he relaxes into the embrace. "For being here, I mean."

Konoha gives a slight nod, his grip on Kuroha growing even tighter. "...Yeah. I'll stay with you, Kuro. I love you."

"...I... love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a few more drabbles sitting around on Tumblr that are set in this AU and didn't know where else to put them here so I'm just making this into a short drabble series I guess??
> 
> I write too many drabbles.

He's not sure how long he's been laying here, staring up at the ceiling and desperately wishing he could fall asleep. It's been hours, he's sure, hours spent uselessly counting sheep. He can hear his brother beside him, his breathing steady. Kuroha fell asleep a long while back, and he finds himself feeling jealous of his brother.  _He's_ the one who's supposed to be able to sleep easily, not  _Kuroha._

He rolls over onto his side so that he's facing his brother, hesitating for a moment. Does he really want to do this? Does he really want to bother his brother about this? He eventually decides to go through with it, reaching out to shake Kuroha awake. "...Kuro? Hey... Kuro." An irritated grumble emanates from his sibling, and tired golden eyes open themselves moments later.

"...Kono?" Kuroha mutters something he can't quite catch under his breath, and Konoha's sure he was just insulted several times. His brother's gaze flicks to the clock before finally looking back at him, a frown slowly spreading across his face. "...It's two in the morning. What do you want?"

He scratches at the back of his head, suddenly wondering if this was the right decision. "Uh... S-sorry to wake you up, but I... I can't sleep..." Kuroha blinks several times in response to that, a heavy sigh leaving him. His brother finally sits up, blinking tiredly before wrapping one arm around him and pulling him up against his side.

"...You want me to lull you to sleep then, is that what you're saying?" Kuroha asks, his voice a deep, tired mumble.

"Please..." he whispers in response, snuggling himself further up against his brother's side. "You help. I always sleep better afterwards... Please, Kuro..?"

"...Fine." Kuroha eventually relents, another deep sigh escaping him. A quick kiss is pressed against his lips before Kuroha's other arm wraps around him, holding him even closer. "...The things I do for you, I swear..."

Kuroha takes a deep breath, and the next words that leave him aren't spoken, but sung. " _Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, smiles await you when you rise. Sleep, my darling, do not cry, and I'll sing you a lullaby._ " He can already feel himself drifting off the instant Kuroha starts to sing, the deep rumble of his brother's voice doing wonders to comfort him. His eyes are drifting shut by the time the second verse starts up, and he can't make out what the words are any longer, can only feel the vibration of Kuroha's voice as he lays against him.

"...Good night, Konoha." He's vaguely aware of his brother talking to him, of a pair of lips pressing against his forehead. "I love you." It's the last thing he hears before he finally drifts off, warm and content in his brother's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

He bolts upright in bed, his heart racing as remnants of his dream cling to the edges of his mind (only that wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. a nightmare i can't ever seem to escape. a nightmare that keeps coming back, over and over again). His hands slowly reach up to clutch at his head, unable to suppress the low whine that escapes his throat (i'm scared. i'm scared i'm  _scared i'm scared **i'm scared**_ ).

"Kuro..?" He can feel the bed beneath him shift as his brother sits up, and it isn't long before two long arms encircle him, drawing him close (and it's warm. konoha is warmth and comfort and love and all the things that i need,  _crave_ ). "It's okay." Konoha mumbles, hands reaching up to grab his own and gently pulling them away from his head. "They're just dreams, it's okay." He hadn't even realised he was crying until suddenly his brother is kissing away his tears, fingers carefully wiping away the ones that had yet to fall. "It's okay, I promise. I'm right here, Kuro."

He stares at his brother for a long moment, mixed feelings swirling within (because i'm scared. i'm scared and i hate it but konoha helps. konoha always makes it better, always knows just how to bring me back). "...Konoha." he mumbles, hands slowly reaching out to grab his brother's face. He presses his lips against his sibling's, desperate for affection (for  _love_ ). Konoha responds immediately, lips interlocking perfectly with his own as hands trail down to rest at his waist. He pulls back slightly, staring at his brother. "Tell me you love me, Kono." he whispers, voice trembling. "Please.  _Please_  tell me." (tell me i'm worth something. tell me you need me.)

"I love you." Konoha replies, offering a small smile (don't do that. don't smile at me like that i can't take it). His brother closes the distance between them once more, stealing his lips in a kiss so gentle, so sweet, that he wonders for a brief moment if Konoha isn't an angel. His brother pulls away, that radiant smile lighting up his face once more. "I love you, Kuro."

He can't help himself; not when his heart is pounding at those words, not when Konoha is so close, when he's so  _perfect._ He pushes his brother down on the bed, crawling on top of him and pressing kiss after kiss against his sibling's lips, mumbling hushed utterances of "I love you, I love you, Konoha" over and over again between each and every display of affection (i love you, i want you, i need you). _  
_

Any thoughts of sleep are soon forgotten as they both pull each other closer, as they lose themselves in each other and forget about the world around them (because this is all that really matters. konoha is the only thing that really matters and the only thing i really need. nothing else matters, nothing else hurts. it's just konoha. it's konoha and i love him).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly just wanted them to cuddle.

Kuroha blinks when his brother flops heavily onto the couch beside him, watching as Konoha grabs the remote off the coffee table and switches the TV's input. He makes an irritated growl at that, annoyed that his show was interrupted. "...What are you doing?" he asks, eyeing Konoha. "I was watching that."

"It's Friday." Konoha answers simply, blinking once. ( _Friday? What the heck did that have to do with-- Oh._ ) "It's movie night. ...You didn't forget, did you, brother?" His sibling gives him an accusatory look, and he quickly shakes his head in response. _  
_

"No, no... I didn't forget. ...I just didn't realise it was already so late in the day." It was a half-truth, at least. "It's my turn to pick the movie this week... right?" he asks, grabbing his laptop off the table and plugging it in so that the screen was displayed on their TV.

"Yeah." Konoha confirms, frowning slightly. "Pick a good one this week. I didn't like yours last time..." He thinks back to the last movie he chose, a bloody horror if he recalled correctly. Konoha hated horror movies, and anything bloody upset him terribly. His poor brother would simply end up clinging to him the entire movie, whining every now and then and trying to push himself even closer to Kuroha every time something bad happened. ( _Ah, but I loved that..._ )

"Don't worry, Kono..." he assures, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I've got a really good one in mind for tonight." Konoha gives him a suspicious look, but settles down beside him nonetheless, scooting closer to him as Kuroha starts up the goriest movie he can think of off the top of his head. ( _Sorry, brother... I never can pass these opportunities up._ )

The movie hasn't even been playing for five minutes when the first death happens, bloody and brutal and absolutely  _awful._ He can feel Konoha tense up beside him, and seconds later his brother is all but crawling into his lap, clinging to him and burying his face in his Kuroha's shoulder. "B-Brother y-you... How do you  _like_ these movies?" Konoha's voice is already shaky, already scared. ( _And we haven't even gotten to the fun stuff, yet..._ )

Kuroha's arms reach out to wrap around his brother, pulling Konoha closer so that he can press his lips to Konoha's face in soft, gentle kisses. "It's just my preference, I suppose." he mumbles. ( _But mostly I just want to see you like this. Clinging as tightly as you can to me while your body trembles against mine._ )

"Th-They  _scare_ me..." Konoha whimpers in response, flinching and attempting to press himself even closer to Kuroha when another scream sounds from the TV.

"Don't worry..." he whispers, one hand reaching up to cup his brother's face. He claims Konoha's mouth in a short, sweet kiss. "I'm right here. I'll keep you safe." He grins as Konoha continues to cling to him, seeking comfort each and every time something terrible happens on screen. ( _I'll take any excuse I can get to hold you like this. To kiss you, to comfort you._ )

He hadn't really been thrilled about the idea of a movie night when Konoha had first started this little tradition of theirs, but the more they did it, the more he started liking it. He kisses Konoha once more, mumbling reassurances to his brother even as his mind is already racing to think of a movie worse than this one for his next pick.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly different AU than usual, in that Kuro and Kono are twins and Haruka is older.

Kuroha could hear Haruka yelling at someone in the living room from all the way in his bedroom, and he was doing his best to simply tune his brother out. He didn't even know who Haruka was yelling at since no one was responding (shintaro, if he had to guess), and was finally about to yell for him to just  _shut up_ already when he finally hears it. A shaky stream of apologies from his other brother (from  _konoha_ ) reaches his ears, and Kuroha has never leapt up and thrown his door open so fast in his life (not him. don't you  _dare_ yell at him like that).

He dashes down the hallway, sliding to a stop once he reaches the living room and staring at both of his brothers, attempting to take the situation in. Haruka is  _still_ yelling, hardly even noticing that Kuroha is here now. The boy is gesturing at a file of papers that are absolutely drenched in water, yelling at Konoha about how those were important. His older brother is taking several angry steps towards Konoha now, while his twin continues to apologise (and his voice is breaking, just what has haruka been saying?) and anxiously backs away from from.

He steps in between the two of them, guarding Konoha as he glares at his twin's aggressor. "Hey." he warns, his voice a low growl. " _Back off,_ Haruka. You're upsetting him." 

Haruka blinks several times, his expression shifting from surprise, to confusion, and then back to anger. " _You_ back off. This has nothing to do with you. If Konoha wasn't such an absent-minded  _idiot,_ I wouldn't even--"

Haruka doesn't get to finish that sentence (because now he's  _angry,_ because  _no one, **no one**_  is allowed to talk about konoha like that), not when Kuroha's hands are suddenly grabbing at the front of his shirt and dragging him dangerously close. "I'd shut up if I were you." he hisses in warning, eyes narrowing. "I don't know what I might do if you keep going." Haruka opens his mouth to respond, only he isn't given the chance (i don't care what you were about to say, i told you to  _shut up_ ). One of Kuroha's hands lets go of his brother's shirt, curling into a fist and slamming into the side of Haruka's face. There's a small whimper from Konoha when Haruka hits the floor, and he finally turns to face him.

"...Come on." he mutters, grabbing Konoha's hand. "Let's get out of here." He drags his twin along with him, leading him back to their bedroom and slamming the door closed behind him. He leans up against the wall, silently looking Konoha over for several moments. "...Are you okay?" he finally asks, expression softening.

"I... I..." Konoha only manages a slight nod in response, his voice failing him. The white-haired boy's eyes squeeze shut, tears starting to leak out of them.

"Hey... Hey, it's okay." He closes the distance between them, wrapping his arms around his brother and gently, carefully kissing away his tears. "It's okay, Konoha."

"N-no it's not..!" Konoha is really crying now, his voice a trembling mess as tears spill forth. "H-Haruka's mad at me and... and you just... Now he'll hate you too and it's... it's my fault--!"

"I honestly don't care if he hates me." he mutters, pressing his lips to Konoha's forehead (you're the only one that matters to me, he can hate me all he wants). "And he'll get over it. He won't stay mad at you. He's been stressing over exams and you just... ruined half his paperwork by the looks of it." Konoha flinches at that remark, and he hurries to smooth it over. "Don't worry, don't worry. Just give him some time to cool off, okay? Stay here for a while."

"...Will you stay with me?" Konoha asks, finally opening his eyes again to look at him. "Please?"

"Of course." he answers, pressing a kiss to Konoha's lips. It's sweet, loving, and Konoha returns it in kind, clinging tightly to him. "I wouldn't leave you for the world."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off a prompt from Tumblr: "kurokono au where everything's the same except konoha's like 5'0 and kuroha teases him for it"
> 
> So Konoha's around a foot shorter than his brother.

It was the same thing, day after day. He would impatiently struggle his way through school (and he hated school. he absolutely hated it because it was the only time he had to be apart from his brother, from kuroha), checking his phone every chance he got to see if his brother had left him any messages. Sometimes there weren't any (and he hated those days), and he could do nothing but sigh to himself every class period, impatiently staring at the clock as if watching it would somehow speed its hands along. But sometimes there  _were_ messages, and, if he was lucky, they were explicit (and those were the days he skipped baseball practice. those were the days he  _ran_ the entire fifteen minutes home).

It was one of  _those_ days (and his face had turned a bright red in fifth period after reading  _that_ ), and he's already out the door and dashing for home the very instant the bell releases them for the day (they'd have to forgive him for skipping practice, he had  _much_ more important things to attend to). He's sure he's set a new record time for getting home when he finally swings the door open, kicking his shoes off beside the doormat and slamming the door shut behind him before taking off for the bedroom he shared with his older brother.

He skids to a halt just outside the door (and he almost doesn't stop in time, almost goes crashing right into the wall), flinging the door open and bounding inside. His brother is already there, of course, lounging on his bed while he flips through one of his textbooks. Kuroha turns to regard him, blinking in surprise before standing up. "...You're home even earlier than usual." he comments, the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. "Don't tell me you ditched practice again..? You'll get yourself in trouble, Kono."

"I... I don't care." he manages, still trying to catch his breath from the run home. "I... had to get home. You... K-Kuroha..." He approaches his brother, reaching his hands up in his usual gesture to let Kuroha know to lean down (because he isn't tall enough to kiss kuroha whenever he wants to, and he  _hates_ that). Kuroha, for his part, merely raises an eyebrow at him.

"What is it, Konoa?" his brother asks, and now there's  _definitely_ a smirk spreading across his face. "Do you want something from me? Mmm, because I definitely want something from _you._ " He makes a noise of irritation in the back of his throat, repeating the gesture (even though he knows it won't do him any good, not when kuroha starts acting like this). "Hey... Why don't you kiss me, Kono? I'm always the one to kiss you... That's not really  _fair,_ is it?" 

"Kuro..." He groans in frustration once more. " _Please,_ Kuro, you  _know_ I can't reach..."

Kuroha's cruel grin only  widens. "Why don't you work for it, then?" He hates this. He hates being so much shorter because it means Kuroha gets to do  _this_ to him. His brother does this all the time, constantly teasing him about his height and refusing to kiss him until he finally begs for it.

"...Not today." he mumbles, glaring at his brother. "We aren't doing this again today." Kuroha opens his mouth to give some sort of reply, only Konoha doesn't give him the chance to speak. He throws himself at Kuroha, knocking both of them onto the ground before climbing on top of his brother. "...I can kiss you all I want now."

And he does. He leans down, pressing his lips against Kuroha's again and again, each one growing rougher, more demanding than the last. Kuroha protests at first (even tries to push him off), before he eventually stops caring, kissing him back and reaching his hands up to tangle fingers in Konoha's hair.

His hands wander lower and lower on his brother's body, until he's finally reaching into Kuroha's pants, fingers brushing against his brother's half-erect cock. "Hey, Kuroha..." he mumbles, his hand wrapping around Kuroha before giving him a few quick, jerking strokes (and he loves the noises it draws out of his brother, loves the expression on his face as he starts to get into it). "You always make me work for it, so..." He withdraws his hand, and now it's  _his_ turn to smirk at the look of utter disappointment on Kuroha's face. "I think it's about time I made  _you_ beg for it."


	7. Chapter 7

Kuroha's eyes snap open the instant his alarm goes off, and he groans loudly once he glances at the clock  **(** _There's no way it's already time for classes, I **just**  fell asleep_ **)** . He attempts to reach over to shut the blaring alarm off, grumbling to himself when he has to free himself from Konoha's death grip before he can sit up and maneuver enough to reach it. He sleepily rubs at his eyes, yawning loudly before reaching down to shake his brother awake. 

"Kono. Hey, Konoha. It's time to get up, you've got school." He frowns when his brother shows absolutely no signs of waking, sighing to himself.  **(** _I'll never understand how he can sleep through almost anything. He could sleep through the end of the world, I'm sure. The only thing that always works without fail is..._ **)** He leans down, pressing his lips against Konoha's in a short, sweet kiss before blinking several times and pulling away.  **(** _...His lips are hot. Why are they..?_ **)** _  
_

"...Brother..?" Konoha's eyes are slowly opening now, and he mumbles sleepily to himself before looking up at Kuroha. "...Is it time to get up already? It can't be..."

"It is." he mumbles in reply, frowning slightly. He places one hand against Konoha's forehead, his expression shifting to one of worry when he feels just how high his brother's temperature is. "...Konoha. Are you feeling okay?  You're burning up..."  **(** _He's running a fever. Haruka would have already left so... I'm the only one here who can take care of him. But I don't even..._ **)**

Konoha mumbles something unintelligible, shaking his head. "...I feel really hot." he eventually says, squirming for a few moments before finally managing to throw the bedsheets off of himself. "...Not the good kind of hot. I feel gross."

"You're sick, Kono." he mumbles in response, finally getting out of bed and stretching. "Stay right here, okay? I'll go get you some medicine." He plants a quick kiss against his brother's forehead before rushing off to their bathroom, pulling open the medicine cabinet and searching through the different bottles until he finds something for fevers. He dumps two of the pills out into his hand, filling up a glass of water to go with it.  **(** _This will work, right? I've never had to take care of someone before, what do you even **do**? Give them medicine, make sure they drink lots of water... You're supposed to make them soup too, right? Maybe we have some in the_   _pantry..._ **)**

He makes his way back to their bedroom, where Konoha has finally propped himself upright. "Here." He hands the pills over to Konoha, waiting for his brother to pop them in his mouth before handing him the glass of water. "Keep the water with you." he instructs, nodding at the nightstand on Konoha's side of the bed. "Make sure you drink plenty, but take small sips."

Konoha blinks several times before making a vague noise of confusion. "...Am I not going to school today, brother? But you have classes soon... I don't want to stay home by myself..."

"You're sick, Konoha. I'm not sending you to school like this." He leans down to kiss his brother once more. "I'll be skipping classes today... so don't worry. I'll take care of you." He pulls back, starting to head back out of the room before Konoha grabs his wrist.

"Kuro... Don't leave. You said you were gonna stay and take care of me... right?"

"I am." he answers, nodding. He gently removes Konoha's hand from his wrist, frowning slightly. "I'll be right back, I promise. I'm just going to get you some food, okay? It's not good to take medicine on an empty stomach."  **(** _I'm not actually sure how true that is... but it sounds accurate enough, at least._ **)**

Konoha reluctantly allows him to leave, and he immediately heads for their pantry. A thorough search reveals that they don't have a single can of soup in the house, so he's forced to make do with the next best thing he can find.  **(** _You can still feed a sick kid oatmeal, right? He'll only ever eat it if there's honey too; that's safe, right? No sugar, though... Christ, I've never **done** this_  _before._ **)**

It isn't long before he's back, sitting on the edge of their bed and offering the bowl of oatmeal to his brother. Konoha simply shakes his head in response. "...I'm not really feeling hungry."

He freezes, giving Konoha a look of disbelief.  **(** _Not hungry? Konoha? Fuck. Fuck this has gotta be worse than I thought if he won't eat. Konoha is **always** hungry. How serious is this? He's not going to die is_  _he...?_ **)** He shakes his head furiously, clearing those thoughts away before scooping up a spoonful of food. "You've gotta eat something, Konoha. Come on. Here... If you finish all of it, I'll stay in bed with you all day, okay?"

Konoha gives him a suspicious look. "...You promise?"

"I promise." he swears. "Now come on, eat." He raises the spoon to Konoha's mouth, who reluctantly opens his mouth and begins eating. It takes a while (and a lot of coaxing oh his part), but eventually he's managed to feed Konoha the entire bowl. He sets the dishes down on the nightstand, preparing to stand up once more to take them back to the kitchen before Konoha is suddenly clinging to his waist. "Konoha--?! What are you..?"

"You promised!" Konoha protests, refusing to let go of him. "You promised if I ate everything you'd stay here. So don't get up. Don't leave. Stay with me..."

He sighs, turning towards his brother before leaning in and kissing him. Konoha responds immediately, and he can't help but worry about how  _hot_ Konoha's lips still feel on his own. Their kiss doesn't last long, and he pulls Konoha towards himself as soon as it ends. "...Okay." he mumbles, pressing another kiss to Konoha's forehead. "I'll stay right here. I need you to get some rest though, okay? You won't get any better if you don't rest."

"...You promise you'll stay?" Konoha mumbles, his voice a tired mumble as his eyes already start to close.

"I promise." He rearranges the both of them so that Konoha is laying against him, his arms wrapped securely around his brother. "Now get some sleep, Kono. I love you." There's a mumbled reply from Konoha that he can't quite make out before his brother finally slips back into unconsciousness. He sighs, letting his own eyes fall closed as he joins his brother, hoping that Konoha shows at least some improvement when they both awaken.


	8. Chapter 8

Konoha is worried when he comes home to an oddly quiet house, a strange feeling of anxiety running through him when he realises his brother hasn't come home yet.  **(** _That's not right... Kuro is always home before I am, his classes let out hours before I get home from practice. He always texts me if he goes somewhere, but..._ **)** He pulls his phone out of his pocket, unlocking the screen and staring at his messages. The only alert that greets him is a message from Haruka saying that he'll be staying the night at Shintaro's place. There's nothing from Kuroha.

Konoha lets out a long sigh, kicking his shoes off and shuffling back to his bedroom before falling backwards onto Kuroha's bed. The room feels empty without his brother there, and it only causes his unease to grow.  **(** _...I'm sure he's fine. It's Kuroha, he can take care of himself. He probably just forgot to text me. ...But he never forgets. He **always** lets me know if he's going to be late, or if he goes somewhere, or... Why didn't I get a message..?_ **)** _  
_

He groans in frustration, grabbing his phone once more and frantically refreshing his messages. It doesn't matter how many times he reloads, though; no new messages ever show up. "...Kuro..." He lets out a deep breath, letting his phone fall to the floor before turning to curl up on his side, hugging his arms around himself. "...Please come home soon."

He's not sure how long it's been (hours, he thinks), and he's only just managed to fall into a fitful sleep when he finally,  _finally_ hears the front door slowly creak open. He's up in an instant, stumbling a few steps and waiting for the vertigo to pass before bolting off down the hallway. "Kuro..! Kuro, you're home! Where have you..." He skids to a halt the moment he sees his brother, eyes growing wide. "...been..?"

"...Hey, Kono." Kuroha manages, smiling weakly. Konoha makes a noise of distress, stepping closer and holding his hands out near Kuroha as if he's afraid the older boy might fall over. He's been in another fight, which isn't exactly unusual for him. What  _is_ unusual is the fact that he seems to have  _lost_ this particular fight. There are deep purple bruises flowering across his face and collarbone, blood slowly trickling down his chin from his split lip. He's holding his side carefully, making Konoha suspect that he also has a broken rib or two. _  
_

"K--Kuroha..? What..?" He lets out a panicked squeak when his brother tries to take a step forward, finally reaching out to steady Kuroha. "Wh-- What did you..? How did..?" He shakes his head, guiding Kuroha to the couch and carefully helping him sit down. "I... I'll be right back. Don't try to move!" Kuroha only offers a faint grunt in response, and Konoha sprints off to the bathroom to grab their first aid kit.

He's back in a matter of seconds, fumbling to open the kit while Kuroha eyes him warily. "...I'm fine, Kono. Put that thing up, I don't need it."

Konoha only gives him a stern look in response, finally pulling the kit open and reaching for the alcohol. "Brother... It's a miracle you managed to even walk home like this. Please... Just let me take care of you for once." Kuroha rolls his eyes in response, but offers no further protests. "...Thank you." He soaks one of the cotton balls in alcohol before moving to sit beside his brother, carefully turning Kuroha's face so that he can easily reach his injuries. 

Kuroha hisses the instant the alcohol touches his cuts, wincing slightly and glaring at Konoha. "...Sorry." Konoha mumbles, carefully dabbing at every injury he sees. "It's for your own good, though." Kuroha mutters something under his breath in response, breathing in sharply every now and then when Konoha moves to a new injury. "...What happened, brother?"

"...Don't worry about it." Kuroha mumbles in response. "It won't be a problem any longer, so... You don't need to worry."  **(** _You always do this. You never give me any answers, you always just tell me not to worry, that you've already dealt with everything. But I don't even know what you're dealing with, because you won't **tell**_ _me._ **)** "Konoha." He's startled out of his thoughts, blinking once before nodding to indicate he's listening. "It's fine. I'm okay. You're okay. So... Don't ask me about it, alright?"

"...Fine." he relents, and Kuroha relaxes visibly after hearing that response. "...You're not okay, though."

"I will be." his brother assures, managing a slight grin. "That's what I have you for, right? To take care of me?"

"...Yeah." He finally sets the cotton ball down, reaching for the bandages. He presses a gentle kiss against the cut on his brother's cheek before placing a bandage over it, repeating the action for every injury on his face. "I can't bandage your lip, but..." He leans in, capturing Kuroha's lips with his own. His brother tastes of sweat and blood, not a pleasant combination at all, but he doesn't overly mind. He's gentler than usual, careful not to make his lip any worse than it already is, and he pulls away the instant Kuroha tries to deepen the kiss.

"That's not fair." Kuroha groans, giving Konoha a pleading look. "You can't just tease me like that. Just a little more... Please?"

Konoha simply shakes his head in response, smiling slightly at the disappointed look he receives. "We'll have plenty of time once you recover." He sets the first aid kit aside, carefully crawling into his brother's lap and looping his arms around Kuroha's neck. "...So get better soon, okay?" He presses his lips to Kuroha's once more in a brief, careful kiss before pulling away to lay his head on his brother's shoulder. "...Please be more careful, Kuro. I hate seeing you hurt."

"It won't happen again, Kono, I promise."  **(** _Except it will, because that's what you say every time, and you still come home like this over and over again. But this time... I want to believe you so badly._ **)** "...Thank you, Konoha. I love you."

"...I love you, too."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoha is scared of thunderstorms

It's late. It's late, and he's  _tired,_ and he'd give anything for the storm that's raging outside to just  _cut it out_ _already._ Normally, it wouldn't be a problem for him. Storms have never bothered Kuroha, but Konoha is a different story entirely. "K-Kuro... Is it going to stop soon..?" Konoha's voice is a trembling mess and he can feel the other boy shivering against him, Konoha's death-grip tightening every time lightning flashes outside.

"...I don't know, Konoha." he mumbles, blinking blearily and uselessly trying to shove the other off of him (but it's no use of course, because if konoha doesn't want to let go of him, no force on this earth is going to make him). "It could stop in a few minutes, it could keep up all night." He sighs heavily, desperately wishing he could simply will the storm away. "It's not going to hurt you though, so calm down."

He readjusts himself as best he can, managing to loosen Konoha's grip on him just enough to free both of his arms. He hugs Konoha to himself moments later, resting his chin on top of the other boy's head and mumbling reassurances. "It's not going to hurt you. The storm's outside and we're safe and sound indoors. I know it sounds scary, but it'll be okay, I promise."

It works, to a degree. Konoha's trembling almost completely stops, and the whimpering cries that were leaving him with every flash of lightning cease entirely. "See? It's okay."

Konoha nods against him, pulling back ever-so-slightly to look at him. "...Thank you, Kuro." he mumbles, finally starting to relax.

He's about to ask if they can  _finally_ go to sleep now, if maybe he'll have a chance at getting at least a  _little_ rest tonight, when it finally happens. Another flash of lightning hits (and it's close, it's very close), and just as it does... The power goes out, plunging the room into darkness.

He hears Konoha's cry of fear just before the death-grip returns (and he can barely breathe with how tightly konoha is holding onto him now). "Y-You said... You s-said it was... g-gonna be  _okay._ " He can feel a dampness against his shirt now that tells him Konoha is crying. "Th-This... isn't okay..!"

"It  _will_ be, I _promise_." It doesn't matter what he says at this point, Konoha is far too terrified to listen to him. "Look, just..." An irritated sigh leaves him, and he forcibly pushes Konoha far enough away from himself to allow him to lean in for a kiss. He misses at first (unsurprising when neither of them can see anything), only grazing the other's cheek before another flash lights up the room and allows him to correct himself. _  
_

Konoha's cries are effectively silenced (and soon stop completely), turning instead to a vague noise of surprise before the boy finally starts to reciprocate. He holds the kiss for several long moments (because konoha isn't paying attention to the storm, or the darkness, or anything that isn't  _kuroha_ right now), breaking it to give Konoha one more quick peck on the lips before finally pulling away once more.

"...It'll be okay, Konoha. You've got me right here, and I'm not about to let some stupid storm hurt you, okay?" Konoha nods slowly in response, mumbling a tired "okay" and leaning against him. He breathes a sigh of relief, softly petting Konoha's hair and waiting for the other to fall asleep before he finally ( _finally_ ) allows himself to close his eyes and drift off. _  
_


End file.
